Unrest was an indie rock band from the Washington, D.C., area. It was one of Mark Robinson's projects for what would eventually become the TeenBeat label, also created by Robinson while in high school. Developing from an experimental approach of never playing the same song twice, earlier material seemed to be influenced by everything from punk to funk to Ennio Morricone.
Original members Robinson (guitar) and drummer Philip Krauth were joined by Bridget Cross on bass in 1990 and their sound evolved into a minimalist but lively kind of pop. The two full-length albums released with this line up, 1992's Imperial f.f.r.r.and 1993's Perfect Teeth (distributed by the influential British label 4AD Records) featured pop songs interspersed with avant-garde percussive and sonic tracks, sometimes featuring nothing but white noise, beeps or sirens. EPs released around the same time period reveal a more pronounced gap between pop and experimental elements.
The group broke up in 1994 with Krauth pursuing a solo career and Robinson and Cross continued for a time as Air Miami, which released two singles and one album, me me me. Since Air Miami's demise in the mid '90s, Robinson has continued to release various solo projects, as well as albums with his bands Cotton Candy and Flin Flon, and continues to run the TeenBeat label as well.
Links to Peel[]
Peel seemed to have discovered the group in 1991 when he played their Sex Machine track, which was part of the Singles Of The Month Club released by the Sub Pop label. Further material from the group were played by Peel and impressed by their records, he invited the group to record a session for his show in 1992, where they performed four tracks. After the group split, Peel played a track by Mark Robinson and Bridget Cross' project called Air Miami in 1995, but never played any further material from the group.
Sessions[]
UNREST John Peel 10th September 1992
1. Recorded: 1992-09-10. First Broadcast: 17 October 1992
- Four Women Walking / Teenage Suicide / Firecracker / Three Layer Cake
Other Shows Played[]
- Unrest
- 27 April 1991: Sex Machine (7" - A Factory Record) Sub Pop
- 07 March 1992: 'Bavarian Mods (7 inch - Bavarian Mods And Other Hits)' (Homestead Records)
- 04 April 1992: Bavarian Mods (7" EP - Bavarian Mods And Other Hits) Homestead
- 15 May 1992: 'I Do Believe You Are Blushing (LP-Imperial F.F.F.R.)' (No. 6, manufatured by Ajax)
- 24 May 1992 (BFBS): I Do Believe You Are Blushing (album - Imperial F.F.F.R.) No. 6
- 20 June 1992: Firecracker (12", Album: Imperial F.F.R.R.) Ajax Records
- 14 August 1992: Isabel Bishop (7") Teenbeat
- 04 September 1992: 'Isabel Bishop (7 inch)' (Teenbeat)
- 06 September 1992 (BFBS): Isabel (LP - Imperial F.F.R.R.) Guernica
- 03 July 1993: ‘International Nautical Miles (Various Artists 7 inch – Teenbeat 100)’ (Teenbeat)
- 17 July 1993: ‘So Sick (CD – Perfect Teeth)’ (4AD)
- 30 July 1993: Cath Carroll (album - Perfect Teeth) 4AD
- 08 August 1993 (BFBS): Cath Carrol (album - Perfect Teeth) 4AD
- 10 September 1993: 'Goodbye (12"-Cath Carroll)' (4AD) (JP: 'It's a sort of really crap thing that DJs do, actually, to finish their programmes with a song called Goodbye.... And now, to take you through the night, Steve Edwards.')
- 17 September 1993 (BFBS): 'Goodbye (12"-Cath Carroll)' (4AD)
- 22 April 1995: 'Hey Hey Halifax (7"-Animal Park)' (Teenbeat)
- 29 July 1995 (BFBS): 'Oils (LP-Malcolm X Park)' (Caroline)
- Air Miami
- 14 January 1995: Airplane Rider (7 inch) Teenbeat